Five, Six, Seven, Eight...A few suggestions for how to make dance exercise work for you
By Meryl Green
As a dancer – now an older dancer – I’ve experienced the great pleasure of moving in an instrument at the top of its form – young, healthy, trained, and strong. Gradually, inevitably, those gifts have started to recede. In addition to the various challenges associated with “normal” aging, I’ve weathered my share of random maladies, injuries, and pervasive osteoarthritis that caused cantankerous joints. Meningioma, hernia, spinal stenosis, bumpy skin, and a knee with attitude have been surgically corrected. Still on the pre-op waiting list are a couple of useless thumbs and a right second toe that is trying to change places with its big sister, and needs to be set straight.
Yet despite my escalating difficulties, I’ve never visited a health professional who suggested that I stop dancing. On the contrary, the medical community knows precisely what I learned from years of trial and error: That doing what feels good, with awareness, beats sitting around and losing what remains functional.
Have you noticed that exercise is a recommended treatment for a host of body malfunctions these days? Serious illnesses like rheumatoid arthritis and silly ailments like inflexible toe joint require us to keep moving, if slower and more carefully, in order to get and feel better.
For some people, the mere mention of the “e” word by a doctor is enough to flood the office with a stream of excuses: It hurts. No time. Uncoordinated. Too tired. Too tight. Too loose. Too fat. Too far. Too weak. Too late. Too much. Yet those of us who love and live for exercise find it healing just to receive a prescription for movement. A scary medical diagnosis can lead to panic over the thought of never being able to run, swim, bike, or snowshoe again. I’ll wither, get fat, ungraceful, unlovable! But when physical therapy, brisk walking, or a daily swim are recommended antidotes, many consistent exercisers breathe a long sigh relief.
Fear not, lovers and haters of exercise, because a worthy alternative is available to us all – dance. You heard me correctly. Before you speed-turn this page, can we talk? Chances are good that at some point in your life you spontaneously moved in a way that was compatible with some sort of music. Maybe you were a child. You didn’t care how you looked. You automatically did something that worked, and felt disappointed when the song was over. You felt good.
As a habitual dance exerciser, both at home alone and out with others, I have been able to personalize my fitness practice. While enhancing what still works well, I try to treat problem areas tenderly, and sometimes even find movement that cures. Best of all, I have fun in the process. What follows are a few suggestions for how to get started, and how to make dance exercise work for you:
Set aside a reasonable amount of time.
Arrange household matters to avoid interruption. Turn off, at least in your head, phones, computers, and doorbells. This would even be an acceptable moment to plunk visiting grandchildren in front of the TV in another room, despite orders to the contrary from their parents.
Dance exercise means anything goes.
There’s no room for judgment here except from your kindest and most responsible self who may occasionally whisper that something doesn’t feel so good today. Take a moment to listen and learn. When I’m experiencing a problem with, say, my left shoulder, I simply omit my upper-left quadrant from my dance. If a leg harbors the culprit of the day, most of the dance will happen on the furniture or the floor so I can move other cooperating parts without stressing the painful limb. This approach not only allows your exercise to proceed uninterrupted, but can delight you with amazingly creative movement.
Wear a non-constricting garment.
You may surprise yourself with larger moves than the ones you’re used to making. It also doesn’t hurt to like the way you look and feel. Try wearing an old favorite that’s still around because you love it but is no longer typical of what one sees on the street these days. If your disintegrating wedding clothes sound far-fetched, consider a ’60s muumuu or a silky Nehru jacket.
Choose your favorite music to accompany yourself.
Go for the stuff that stirs you deeply and calls for an immediate response. If it’s Bing Crosby, you may nod off with a gentle smile on your face. Sousa may lead a grand parade around your dining table. Beethoven may require giant sweeps of the upper body, grounded by the wide, firm stance of your lower half.
When you’re ready to begin, push your music button.
Breathing is a nice opener. If possible, start with your eyes closed, which will allow you to hear the music better and detach you from outside stimulation. Let the movement come from within. Check occasionally to make sure you’re not holding your breath. Open your eyes whenever you like. As with the writing exercise in which you try to write for ten minutes without lifting pen from paper, go forward with whatever bubbles up.
Think of the music as your partner.
Allow it to take you in hand and deliver you into a movement-responding mode that is far away from the chatter that typically occupies your mind. The music will tell you when to expand and shrink, rise and sink, curl and lengthen, storm and retreat. Whatever you do – a wave, a tap, a swirl, a clap – is great. Continue to move, and be open to occasional opportunities for stillness. Rest. What would you like to do next? The possibilities are endless. You can even include the repetitive exercises the physical therapist prescribed in the flow of music and dance to make them more welcome in your daily life, but the movement need not be identified or preplanned in any way. Stay focused on the music and your body. This meditative approach to dance loves the present. Thoughts about what you used to be able to do, or wish you could do, are unwelcome guests. If you’re truly enjoying yourself in the moment, you’re Martha Graham, Mikhail Baryshnikov, and the world’s greatest dance exerciser all rolled into one.
If the solitary scenario leaves you less than enthusiastic …
There are away-from-home alternatives. Some exercisers need the company of others to get motivated. Some (especially once they’ve gained confidence at home) simply enjoy the camaraderie and novelty of working with others. I enjoy private and public dancing, both of which help to chase away the body blues.
Once a week I attend a dance-improvisation group for people who like to move. Presently, our ages range from 24 to 81. (Our 90-year-old left two years ago to be closer to her children in another city, not because she was finished dancing.) Members draw inspiration from their various ages, abilities, and backgrounds, thus adding to the creative mix. Ever supportive, we share ideas and music as we generate dances for our own pleasure. Remarkably, in this mostly non-verbal setting, we learn about our bodies, ourselves, and our fellow dancers.
With a little gumption, you too will be able to find or create a similar group close to home. Closet dancers often emerge when asked if music or seeing other people dance gets their toes tapping, and New York City is filled with church rooms and other relatively low-cost studio space. Best of all, dance exercise – solo or with friends – has this magical way of becoming … dance! So the next time your doctor prescribes exercise, fire up your best tunes and rejoice.
